A Call to Act: Developing a Poverty-Busting Lifestyle

Description

Every Action Can Make a Difference In recent years churches have rediscovered the centrality of concern about poverty to the gospel of Christ. Yet we can still so easily fall into the trap of adding social action into our lives as an optional extra when convenient, rather than letting the heart of Jesus for justice for those in poverty affect every area of our lives and our discipleship. A practical tool for churches and small groups, and incorporating discussion questions and accompanying videos, A Call to Act demonstrates that, in order to engage with poverty and need, we must re-evaluate our own attitudes and adopt a poverty-busting lifestyle. There are undoubted challenges to embracing a life of simplicity but these are broken down into ideas for action. Whether getting up close to poverty, rejecting comfort in favour of compassion, or living with a more poverty-focused lifestyle, churches and individuals will be empowered to live out Jesus' principles of justice, mercy, and the care of creation within their own communities and the wider world. Martin Charlesworth lives in Shrewsbury with his wife, Jane, and has three grown-up daughters. Prior to leading Jubilee+, Martin led Barnabas Community Church, Shrewsbury, and helped develop its strong emphasis on social action and community engagement. Natalie Williams grew up in relative poverty in Hastings. She worked as a journalist before becoming Head of Communications and Policy for Jubilee+. She also leads social action at King's Church in Hastings. Both Martin and Natalie are popular speakers on issues of poverty, justice and class.